Survey reveals skin cancer isn't being taking seriously

The Ministry of Health says New Zealand has one of the highest rates of melanoma in the world, yet a new survey conducted by skincare experts, the Skin Institute, shows there are still many Kiwis that aren’t taking sun safety seriously.

Currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Skin Institute has helped thousands of New Zealanders across the country by diagnosing and treating their skin cancers with a range of non-surgical procedures through to revolutionary Mohs Micrographic Surgery.

The survey, which looked into how sun safe Kiwis are, revealed that one third of the respondents expose themselves to the sun without any protection to get vitamin D. Surprisingly, almost one in five said they go out in the sun unprotected because they want to get a tan!

36% of respondents also admitted to lying in the sun for between 1-10 hours each week and more alarmingly, one in three said they had been sunburnt to the point of peeling once or twice in the last 12 months.

Dr Mark Gray from the Skin Institute says: “Given that New Zealand has such a high prevalence of melanomas, these figures are really disappointing to hear – especially when you have to face those that are affected by skin cancer on a daily basis.”

“While a lot of the statistics were upsetting, there were some positive findings – for example, 44% of respondents said they often wore sunscreen and 82% said when buying sunscreen they would choose one that is SPF 30 or more. 30% of women also said they self assess their moles every couple of months and nearly 60% said they know what an unusual mole looks like, which is pleasing to hear.”

According to the survey, it seems that both men and women aren’t taking sun safety as seriously as they should be.  10% of the male respondents said they can’t protect themselves from the sun because of their work and over a quarter of both men and women said they only occasionally use sunscreen.

Dr Gray continues: “Although most Kiwis do know how to be sun safe, it seems they aren’t all applying this knowledge to life.”

“We also explored whether Kiwis were carrying out regular mole, freckle and skin checks regularly.”

The survey reported more than half of the respondents (55%) said they have never had their moles, freckles or skin checked by a medical professional and only 14% said they have an annual check. This was a concerning result, especially as 40% of respondents said they did not know or were not sure what an unusual mole looked like.

“From the results of this survey, it seems there’s a lot more that can be done around getting Kiwis more on board with sun safety – not only reducing sun exposure, but with getting regular skin checks.”

“Currently an estimated one in fifteen Kiwis are expected to develop a melanoma in New Zealand.  We want to reduce the sheer number of people that are affected by skin cancer, so encourage everyone to have regular skin checks to be aware of the signs. Early detection is our best chance of cure.”

The Skin Institute provides a range of services and treatments, including full body skin assessments and the surgical removal of skin cancers – including Mohs Micrographic Surgery. To book an appointment visit www.skininstitute.co.nz.